retiring to India - getting out of the race

[nee1000]

Hi R2i gang,
posting after a long time but a very keen follower of the forums.
Fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for some of the best companies both in US and India and now in US.. but recently left a well paying job due to high levels of stress and toxic company culture.
I am 45 and at cross roads to make some decisions - i hate the rat race and am tried of this material life and chasing the $$, i am mentally and physically exhausted but scared of making the decision to drop out of the race.

So asking for some guidance and validation of my current financials and thinking around retirement to India.
my profile: family of 3 - housewife + daughter going to college in a year likely in US and my current savings in US (cash, 401k) should cover her college and our living expenses for next 4-5 years.

- I have current corpus in FD of 5.5 Crores and expect to retire by 50 and expect my corpus to be 7 crores (growing in FD over the next 5 years) + 2 apartments worth total of 2 Crores in top metros currently rented.

Is this enough to retire in India in Bangalore or Chennai for a middle class living (we are very simple, frugal in lifestyle) sustainable for next 30 years?

thanks for the feedback
vinoth

[crazyforger]

Hi R2i gang,
posting after a long time but a very keen follower of the forums.
Fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for some of the best companies both in US and India and now in US.. but recently left a well paying job due to high levels of stress and toxic company culture.
I am 45 and at cross roads to make some decisions - i hate the rat race and am tried of this material life and chasing the $$, i am mentally and physically exhausted but scared of making the decision to drop out of the race.

So asking for some guidance and validation of my current financials and thinking around retirement to India.
my profile: family of 3 - housewife + daughter going to college in a year likely in US and my current savings in US (cash, 401k) should cover her college and our living expenses for next 4-5 years.

- I have current corpus in FD of 5.5 Crores and expect to retire by 50 and expect my corpus to be 7 crores (growing in FD over the next 5 years) + 2 apartments worth total of 2 Crores in top metros currently rented.

Is this enough to retire in India in Bangalore or Chennai for a middle class living (we are very simple, frugal in lifestyle) sustainable for next 30 years?

thanks for the feedback
vinoth

One can never retire in India.
It is full of toxic people running behind money till their last breath....and is going to get worse.

Probably our grand kids would see a livable India when they are ready to retire.

[rajradio]

More than enough. Though i dont agree with pure fd model in a high inflation economy

[cmk786]

With 7 crore rupees you can even retired in US and can visit when ever you want to visit to India. But I would not retire in India. Lots of issues in India which will make your life miserable.

[VadheraHalli]

With 7 crore rupees you can even retired in US and can visit when ever you want to visit to India. But I would not retire in India. Lots of issues in India which will make your life miserable.

I agree 100%
At middle age, it gets really hard to hang on to a good job in US. The career pyramid gets narrow as you age and someday or other you will be pushed off the incline.

However, you and your money will be soon parted if you try to retire in India without very very careful planning. Someday I'll write my story, but in short, I'm one of the r2i --> r2a guys. Had/have similar situation and some more. I did r2i for four years just to understand the issues at ground level while keeping a candle burning in US to light my way back. Bottom line, don't expect life to be good in India unless you are very well connected AND have lot of free cash flow to support an upper middle class living. Oh, be sure to really *test* those connections.. as it may be more unreliable than you think or may need additional cashflow to keep it going once you r2i. Even then, peace of mind is a really precious luxury in India.

[crazyforger]

I agree 100%
At middle age, it gets really hard to hang on to a good job in US. The career pyramid gets narrow as you age and someday or other you will be pushed off the incline.

However, you and your money will be soon parted if you try to retire in India without very very careful planning. Someday I'll write my story, but in short, I'm one of the r2i --> r2a guys. Had/have similar situation and some more. I did r2i for four years just to understand the issues at ground level while keeping a candle burning in US to light my way back. Bottom line, don't expect life to be good in India unless you are very well connected AND have lot of free cash flow to support an upper middle class living. Oh, be sure to really *test* those connections.. as it may be more unreliable than you think or may need additional cashflow to keep it going once you r2i. Even then, peace of mind is a really precious luxury in India.

You put it rather eloquently :thup:

And to make matters worse, OP wants to retire in Bangalore or Chennai :emdgust:

[hermes]

More than enough. Though i dont agree with pure fd model in a high inflation economy

And the new FDRI bill wont guarantee the bank FDs. Your savings can be wiped out overnight unless you split the FD in 100 banks.

[venkat786]

>I have current corpus in FD of 5.5 Crores and expect to retire by 50 and expect my corpus to be 7 crores (growing in FD over the next 5 years) + 2 apartments worth total of 2 Crores in top metros currently rented.

with 2 apartments (assuming paid-off), only daughter college bound(expenses taken care), 7 crores in FDs, Frugal lifestyle in India ...you are officially Out of rat race, You WON the Game! Congratulations. Don't be a slave to corporate jobs, enjoy life & if possible, keep giving.

[ILuvHyd]

If all you are looking for is retirement, and no other real drivers to R2I, daughter settled in US, think twice about R2I.

I suggest explore a semi retirement model in US. Get out of rate race and try to complement your retirement income with a low end cool job. If one is in IT, with all the experience one has, learning couple of new buzz words, getting into a rather quiet application support/deployment/production support job should give at least 60 dollars per hour which should amount to $100K per year.

[nee1000]

Thanks all for your wonderful feedback... both the +ves and the cautious considerations shared.

Let me give a bit more color to my calculation and thinking...

currently i have passive income from the FDs and the 2 rented houses (fully paid off) of approx 44Lacs per year..
I have spent 4 years in India... and removing school fees, for a typical middle/upper class lifestyle - i believe it costs 75k in bangalore today (2018) for a family of 2 (+ daughter when she wants to stay with us). = 10L / year - and this was a very good lifestyle in a gated community in bangalore.
This includes groceries (20 - 30k), utilities (10k), house maintenance (7k), entertainment (10k), travel vac (10k/mo), insurance (10k)
In 5 years @ 7% inflation, we are talking around 15Lacs / year. I see 7 crores alone generating at current 6.6% FD interest 47 lacs + 1 house being rented... we are talking 50L prior to taxes... with taxes i still end up at 36 Lacs cash... when i retire @ 50.
I see it as free cash flow of 36 and almost 20L savings post living expenses.

I agree i will find a sem retirement job that keeps me busy.... and more importantly as Venkat said find ways to contribute back to society.

This has been my thinking as i worked the numbers... lmk if i am too far off or missing something fundamental.

i love this forum as this has been a key reason for most or all of us to stay in touch with India and still look at the options that take us close there...

thanks all
Vinoth